The Ford Nucleon is a concept car developed by Ford in 1957, designed as a future nuclear-powered car—one of a handful of such designs during the 1950s and 1960s. The concept was only demonstrated as a scale model. The design did not include an internal combustion engine; rather, the vehicle was to be powered by a small nuclear reactor at its rear, based on the assumption that nuclear reactors would eventually become small enough to make this possible. The car was to use a steam engine powered by uranium fission, similar to those found in nuclear submarines.


The Nucleon was not a serious design, but rather a vision of the future when such a small reactor with small and light radiation shielding might become possible. It was described in June 1957 as "an advanced notion of the automotive future" and as a "futuristic fancy". Ford stated:

"The Nucleon was styled on the assumption that the present bulkiness and weight of nuclear reactors and attendant shielding will some day be reduced. It seems reasonable to suppose that engineers eventually will discover a way to make this weight reduction possible."

George W. Walker, Vice President for Styling at Ford
This supposition has not come to pass, and modern fission reactors with enough power to propel a vehicle still require roughly 5 feet of radiation shielding (e.g. concrete, water, and/or tungsten) to prevent the operator from absorbing hazardous amounts of radiation dose.

Instructions:
AG1 Starts engines.
Drive with pitch, roll and brake.
AG2 Headlights.
AG3 Maintenance hatch.